Canes' Lose 7-4 in Seattle..@ Everett Tonight

(Above Comcast Arena in Everett, WA. Top pic is the view from the broadcast booth and on the bottom the outside of the bulding from where the players enter the rink. The top pic is of Everett fans lining the glass during warm-up all wearing Kyle Beach #12 jerseys. A bit of a welcome back from his supporters in Everett)

It was truly a playoff-like atmosphere in Seattle last night.

The fans at the new ShoWave Centre in Kent, WA got every penny’s worth watching the game between the Hurricanes and Thunderbirds. It was end-to-end hockey and it turned out be an offensive affair. Seattle scored 5 third period goals to win 7-4. Lethbridge had leads of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 before the T-birds staged a big rally in the final 10 minutes of the game. Both teams worked hard. The Canes’ put in a good effort, but came up short. Lethbridge got into some penalty trouble, but Seattle managed only one goal on the man advantage. Lethbridge went 2 for 3 on the power play. I thought the Thunderbirds got a few good bounces, one a bouncing puck that beat Juha Metsola in the 3rd period. But I guess those are the breaks. Zach Boychuk notched a pair for Lethbridge while Kyle Beach and Brody Sutter scored the others. Greg Scott was the star for Seattle. He tallied 4 times and was no question the game’s first star. I really enjoyed the charged up environment last night. It got everyone in the building, players included into the game from the drop of the puck. In fact you could feel the energy during the singing of the national anthems. It was one of the most energized crowds we’ve come across so far this year. Overall it was simply a very good junior game in front of just under 4200 fans.

Lethbridge failed to make up any ground on Medicine Hat or Swift Current in the Eastern Conference. They remain one point back of the Broncos and 3 behind the Tigers. The Canes’ sit tied with Kootenay at 59 points heading into action tonight.

This evening marks the return of Kyle Beach to Everett. The Silvertips dealt him to Lethbridge at the trade deadline a few weeks ago for Dan Iwanski and Alex Therieau. There’s been a lot of hype around Everett with Beach’s return. Don’t expect him to change his style playing against his former teammates. I expect Beach will be his feisty self as he hopes to pot a few goals against the Tips. I know he’s looking forward to this game. There’s no question though the Canes’ have some business to take care of too. Beach’s return is really a side-bar to this game. Both teams are jockeying for positioning in the East and West. Lethbridge will be hoping for the 2 points first and foremost. Kyle Beach will have to play his role and not get caught up in the moment of returning to Everett. Once the puck drops tonight, it’s business as usual. This should be a heck of a game though. I’ve been told Comcast Arena is maybe the loudest building in the WHL when it’s packed. It’s a great junior facility.

If tonight’s game has a similar feel to last night in Seattle, it should be another entertaining contest. After tonight, we’ll hop the bus and head to Kennewick, where the Canes’ will play the Tri-City Americans Sunday evening before returning home for games against Kamloops and Red Deer next week.

Tonight’s game in Everett is an 8 o’clock start (Alberta time). The pre-game show on CJOC at 7:30.